Monsters Smash Robots in Monsteca Corral from August 16th

We played an early version of Monsteca Corral in February of this year, and we knew then it had a long time left before release. Now it doesn't, as it's due to invade WiiWare in North America on August 16th, with a European release following just days later.

Coming to the end of its two-year development cycle with a new subtitle, Monsteca Corral: Monsters vs. Robots follows a herd of monsters named Stompies who must collect energy orbs to feed to an Astro Maggot to escape the planet safely, of course. The trailer explains things more clearly, and the press release below is a stone-cold classic, so if the game lives up to these standards it could be a decent experience.

British indie game developer releases first WiiWare™ title Monsteca Corral : Monsters vs. Robots this summer.

Liverpool, August 10, 2010 – British indie game developer Onteca have revealed the release date of the much anticipated WiiWare™ title, Monsteca Corral: Monsters vs. Robots after almost two years of development. The monster-packed 3D strategy-puzzler will be available on WiiWare™ in North America from August 16 2010 and Europe from August 20 2010 for 500 Wii Points™. Earlier announcements about the game sparked off debates as to whether indie company Onteca could beat the odds and create a user experience to rival Pikmin for WiiWare™.

Monsteca Corral focuses on fast paced fun-puzzle gameplay. It is targeted at anyone and everyone who enjoys pick up and play games. You control a herd of peculiar orange creatures known as Stompies. You need to stop these cute and not so bright Monsters being stunned by invading robots. Instead of watching Stompies run a dim-witted riot, it is your job to collect them and guide them successfully through each level.

As a Monster Herder you fly above the Stompies saving them from the dangers of their changing environment. Your Stompies run through each level, collecting Energy orbs that are scattered throughout the habitat and which increase the communal power of the herd. This power enables the herd to smash up buildings, resist the ever increasing robot population and feed the Astro Maggot that provide their ultimate means of escape.

Herders can use the Wii Remote to:

create deviation paths that block off dangerous routes for Stompies.

allow Stompies to follow a route.

make Stompies split and form sub groups.

help Stompies damage the robot environment.

make your Stompies jump and shake and fart.

rescue your Stompies from Robot Prison.

escape on the back of an Astro Maggot.

Stompies migrate through the different and ever changing environments of the Monsteca World: Stomping through Desert, Open Plains, Wooded Highlands, Forest, Wetlands and City in their bid to make it home safely.

Can you get them all home?

Game Features

Interactive soundtrack which changes melody based on player activity written by renowned experimental composer Joe McLaughlin (Kling Klang, one of British Indie stars Portishead's favourite bands).

Hours and hours of full 3D gameplay across the 20+ levels with multiple possible Achievements.

Up-to-four player cooperative mode where you can drop in and help your mates.

Rich and Intuitive Control and Camera system.

Astro Maggots!

Monsteca Corral will be released through the Wii Shop Channel. Monsteca Corral gives people a totally new experience through its innovative control system and offers a fresh perspective on the Strategy Puzzle game genre.

Oh wow, they really need to hire some kind of graphics artist. That logo is absolutely horrible, and who thought it was a good idea to make the trailer dark and blurry? Maybe the gameplay is good, but that was a really bad trailer.

I also think this looks awesome, I like the visual style alot.It's quite refreshing to me. The gameplay itself doesn't appeal to me so I will not go out of the way to make a purchase. But then again 5 bucks would be a bargain for a decent game. I will need more opinions from NL for this one.

@accc "PSX graphics?" Yeah, maybe. Except if this was on PSX the loading would be 20x longer than any of us remember and everything on the horizon would be completely black. I'm not excited for this, but with Wiiware's limited file size I wouldn't expect anything too ambitious.